Price for small-medium metal detection kit

Hi guys,

In the next couple of days I will be making a case to my boss for the implementation of metal detection in our production room.We produce vac packed cut vegetables and currently have lots of control measures in place but not metal detection as it hasn't been 'commercially viable'. I'm hoping that with our recent growth I'll now be able to make a case to convince the powers that this is now necessary. Is anyone able to give a rough figure relating to the initial installation and the maintenance costs thereafter for a fairly basic but well-functioning metal detection system. I can then use these figures to make a 'cost of implementation vs cost of metal foreign body going down someone's throat' presentation. The packs going through would weigh up to 5kg and be about A4 paper sized and about 1.5-2 inches thick.

I know I haven't given you much to go on but if you could just chuck some numbers at me it'd be appreciated.

Many thanks

Andy

Hello Andy_Yellows,

I work for a snack manufacturer in the US and just recently had to research some options for an extra detector to be used off-line. Your best bet is going to be to contact a few manufacturers and get them to write up a quote. The end price will vary greatly depending on your needs. To give you some perspective - a Safeline model gravity-fed detector (with a 6 in./~15 cm aperture) from Mettler-Toledo costs just under ~$16,000 USD. But if you need a frame fabricated, or any other "extras" expect to add about $8,000-9,000 more to that price. If you have a mechanic or engineer that can fabricate something in-house, I would suggest going that route. Most manufacturers will also give you the option to send a trainer to your facility to explain the functions of the machine, troubleshooting issues, etc. for an additional fee. I wish I could give you a better figure for your process, because it sounds as though your detector will be set up in-line with your conveyor (whereas my product falls through an aperture into the finished bag). I don't know what options you have in the UK, but I would try Mettler. They've supplied my facility with 10 Safeline detectors that perform wonderfully, and their customer service has been excellent.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Chris

I agree with Chris, Safeline is an excellent machine.

Not knowing your process, etc. I would think you would be looking at about $5000 - $9000 USD for a rebuild and around $15,000-$20,000USD for a new in-line unit.

There are maintenance contracts that go with them and that will add $$, however if you have an in-house engineering department it should work out to skip that step.

I agree that the cost might definitely relate to the Specifications.

Cheers for your input guys, this would be a new installation so it looks like I'm looking at closer to the £10k-15k mark depending on spec. It's a lot of money even if it is an important investment so wish me luck!